Two weeks at Quartzsite.

Quartzsite,  what a strange place. It is a pop-up city in the middle of the desert.  It is dry, everything is dusty and mineraly. The topography is only somewhat obscured by all the RVs, cars, trucks and ATVs scattered randomly over the landscape. There is clear evidence that water flows everywhere, just not now. Washes and gullies of all sizes course randomly. The jagged rocks of the hillsides become smooth river rocks in the washes. The sand gathers in sand bars just like at the beach. Sandy rivulets alternate with a rock-hard aggregate of well, rocks, and dirt, almost like concrete. I think they call it caliche. There are frequent road signs warning "Do not cross when flooded." If the Dept of Transportation had to build a bridge over every wash, they'd run out of money quick. Instead, there's just a dip in the road providing a path for the water, and if the road washes out, its cheaper to fix the road than to build and maintain a bridge. This is all very fascinating to a coastal person.

It is dry and dusty and gritty. Even though I don't wear shoes into my RV, there is fine dusty dirt everywhere. The pet dogs upon being petted, puff out a cloud of dust. They seem to be very happy playing in the silty soil, chewing on sticks, and don't mind a bit plopping right down into the dirt when told to sit. It must be doggy heaven. They will all get baths when they get home.

The big RV show was big. Lots of vendors of all kinds. Thousands of RVers walking the tent, attention captured by skillful barkers, dogs in strollers, people riding carts. The big diesel pusher lifestyle seems to appeal to the older, more sedentary crowd. The companies actually selling RVs were all selling the giant rigs, motorhomes or fifth wheels. Very few little RVs in sight. Big, big, big.

On the periphery of the big tent is Kuehn Rd and Tyson Wells. Here there are many tool and suppply vendors under small tents or canopies. Everything is dusty. Almost everything is cheap, cheaper anyway. T-shirts, leather goods, jewelry, niche products like the GrillGuard, RV repair vendors, they all blurred together after awhile.

The Lazy Daze gathering was held at La Posa West, a section of the LTVA that was within walking distance of the big tent or Kuehn Road. At its peak, there were 35 Lazy Daze rigs gathered in an area off of Road 532. People came and went, so the total number of rigs must have been quite a bit more than 35, maybe 50 rigs all together. People were busy going to and from the tent deciding what to purchase. TPMS system pros and cons were debated extensively, and quite a few systems were purchased, encouraged by my experience with the Tracker front end blowout.

The nightly bonfire.

I love rocks.I can totally relate to "The Long Long Trailer." Twelve of us took a hike up to Crystal Mountain in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. It was rocky, nothing but rocks. Wierd rocks.

I was very glad to have my hiking poles. You are allowed to take rocks from this mountain. Getting them back downhill is the issue. You can find quartz crystals here. I found two little one. Very cool.

I'd like to see the wash at the foot of the hill when it has water in it.That, however, can be a dangerous pastime.

 
More rocks, and a tiny little barrel cactus that found its niche, and my foot for size comparison. This climb and descent was all rocks. I was glad I was with a group.

I tested my new GrillGuard with some chicken wings and grilled ratatouille. Glad to have the wind break to cook behind. Also cooked the tenderloin steak from the UofA Meat Lab. It was delicious. Vegans were coming back for seconds.

Our encampment finally got down to about six rigs, widely spaced little castles of solitude. I headed back to Phoenix for final (I hope) Tracker repairs, leaving only five Lazy Daze rigs to enjoy the quiet.